Ford Names Full-Season GTD Pro Driver Lineup

Ford Performance has announced the two full-season driver pairings for its flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro campaign with the new Mustang GT3 next year.

Dirk Mueller, Joey Hand, Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell will be at the wheel of the American manufacturer’s GT3 machine, driving for the Multimatic factory squad.

Hand and Mueller will share one car, reprising a successful four-year driving partnership with the Ford GT in the defunct GT Le Mans class.

Tincknell, a race-winning Ford GT driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship, is paired with 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Rockenfeller who is new to the brand.

Rockenfeller has driven a JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 in the GTP class this year and was also part of the NASCAR Garage 56 lineup at Le Mans.

“To have the opportunity to join Ford at this point in my career is fantastic and I’m excited to be part of a new program with a new car,” he said.

“I drove the Mustang GT3 at Sebring a couple of months ago and I have raced against the Ford GT many times so I know I am joining a very strong organization.”

Hand and Mueller won five WeatherTech Championship races sharing the Ford GT between 2016 and 2019. They also took GTE-Pro class honors at Le Mans in 2016 and won the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona, both alongside Sebastien Bourdais.

Since the Ford GT program ended, Hand has made a handful of NASCAR Cup Series appearances along with sporadic sports car outings.

Mueller is a Multimatic-contracted driver, as well as Tincknell who has also been driving a Proton Competition Porsche 963 in the WEC and WeatherTech Championship.

“I’m super excited to finally announce this program and get going with it,” said Hand.

“It’s been a long time coming – been working on this thing for over a year. I’m super thankful and proud to be involved in the early stages of testing the car. We’ve had it on track a lot.

“I tell you, the first time I drove it, I really liked it. It’s one of those cars, for me, it just fits my style. I knew it right away. I think there are going to be a lot of great years of racing this car.”

Ford is yet to announce the drivers who will join the full-season pairings for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds, including the car’s January debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The new machine, powered by an M-Sport tuned 5.4-liter Coyote V8 engine, will also race in Europe with customer teams Proton Competition and Dinamic GT.

“We’re thrilled to embark on this exciting endeavor and to put our 58 years of global Mustang racing heritage and performance to the test against some of the world’s greatest manufacturers,” said Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook.

“We want to welcome Joey and Dirk back to the Ford family after a great few years with the GT program.

“Combined with Harry’s four wins during the Ford GT program and Mike’s impressive racecraft and resume, this puts us in a strong starting position in the Mustang GT3’s debut season.”